A Veggie Venture

Roasted Garlic Soup ♥

Today's soup recipe: A garlic soup, deepened with roasted garlic and made creamy with potato plus a splash of cream. Low carb and for Weight Watchers, 2 or 3 points. Plus, my annual reminder that we plant garlic in the fall some time in the middle of October.

Did my home-ec teacher mother even know about garlic? Surely, she must have. But if she did, garlic awareness didn't translate into garlic cooking, perhaps, I suspect in her defense, because fresh garlic wasn't available in our small-town grocery?

So I was 13 or 14 when garlic entered my life, not with a bang but a full-nasal blast. My Auntie Karen's house reeked of garlic when she made Chicken Cacciatore for my annual birthday supper. What WAS that smell? She laughed and held out a head of garlic for inspection. How could something so small pack such a punch?

How far our food world has come! Few kitchens are now without garlic, it's a staple. And for awhile now, in my kitchen, not only is garlic a staple, so is roasted garlic. It's the basis for this creamy soup, which also packs a punch and to my taste, anyway, is best enjoyed in a small serving.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil on MEDIUM HIGH until shimmery. Add the onion and garlic, sauté until just soft. Stir in the garlic, potato, broth and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a slow simmer, cover and let simmer until the potato is soft, about 30 minutes. Season to taste. Use an immersion blender to process until smooth. Alternatively, transfer 2 - 3 cups at a time to a blender, following these safety tips for processing hot liquids in a blender. (If making ahead of time, stop here and refrigerate for a day or so for the flavors to meld. Return to a boil.) Stir in the cream and heat through but do not allow to boil. Transfer to serving bowls, garnish with fresh thyme, serve and savor!

TODAY'S RECIPE INSPIRATION Adapted from a recipe published in St. Louis' great food monthly, Sauce Magazine, written by Stef Tolle from Iron Stef.

Comments

This soup looks DIVINE. And I just checked the calendar - if you're minding the moonsigns in the garden (I need all the help I can get LOL), the best days to plant garlic this month (and anything else that grows underground, like turnips and carrots and potatoes - if it's warm enough where you are to grow them this time of year, which wouldn't be us here in Missouri) are fertile days in the 3rd quarter: the 23rd, 28th, and 29th. :)

I've been picking up a pound or so of garlic from THE garlic guy at the market every time I go! Last week was his last week, so I'll have to make do with what I've got, but roasted garlic soup is definitely going to happen!

As soon as my tomatoes are done, I'll be planting a few cloves of garlic for next year, as well - I am definitely looking forward, both to my own garlic and to the scapes next spring. :)

We harvested our first garlic this summer. When cutting the scapes, I brought one to my nose to smell it. A few minutes later, my lip felt funny, painful and slightly numb. I looked in the mirror and it was swollen. I assumed I'd been stung by something in the garden until I remembered the garlic scape. I must have accidentally brushed the freshly cut end against my lip -- potent indeed!

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